Authority structure and gender relations between the lanoh of the Malaysian peninsula
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X.1170Keywords:
Gender, inequality, hunter-gatherers, MalaysiaAbstract
This article critically examines why the separation of public and private domains in a village of newly sedentary Lanoh forest collectors and traders in Peninsular Malaysia does not result in the gender inequality predicted by Renato Rosaldo’s influential model. Continuing individual autonomy among the Lanoh prevents competing leaders from attaining support from their male kin. As a result, their self-aggrandisement is confined to their nuclear households where they are supported by their female kin. Gender inequality in the village only occurs in these leaders’ nuclear households, as a consequence of increased household production. These findings imply that inquiries into the causes of gender inequality in small-scale societies need to examine relationships other than those between men and women.
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